Dieu Bénisse France -- Grace

They say it was an odd day today.  It was odd for me too. 

I got up and went to Vacation Bible School, where I've been helping corral our fourteen first-graders all week.  I came home and ate lunch, and then I slept.  It was 6pm when I woke up, and I went to band practice.  I got home at 9:45 and worked on a story idea I had last fall.  It was 12am when I climbed into bed and started watching YouTube videos.

Last spring I gave up Facebook, and last weekend I gave up Instagram.  News just doesn't really travel on Pinterest, and I don't watch television anymore, really. 

But I saw the videos.  I clicked on one and saw the footage. 

Today was Bastille Day in France.  It was like our Fourth of July.  In a little French town called Nice, families and friends were gathered on a beachside promenade to watch the fireworks show.  It was about 10:30pm there -- they say it would have been around 3:30 here in the Midwest -- when there was another terrorist attack.

I watched the six-minute long video, and as I did, my heart shattered.  I slammed my phone down and wept.  Turning my face towards heaven, I cried, "O, Father, how long shall thy people suffer?"

Oh, how I long for Zion...

Please...keep this world in your prayers.

~ Grace

Looking Back -- Grace

Today I'm looking backwards.  I almost always look forward, to the future, but today I'm taking a moment to step back and look at how the Lord has worked in my life.

He has worked marvelously.

For the past seven years, my family has been going through a really hard trial.  It was May 2009 when I became aware of this trial, and I have been praying about it since then.  

This trial was that my brother became an atheist.  He and his wife raised their children in sin for some time.  Growing up, it was hard for me, knowing that my brother didn't believe anything that I grew to love.  It was hard for me, knowing that my nephews might not be able to make the right choices because of how they had been raised.  

Last summer I had a vision that my brother returned to church...and in April of this year, he began to bring his family to Sunday school.  This week I get to help in my oldest nephew's class at Vacation Church School.  He is so eager to pray for the classes, and he told me today,

"Sometimes you just have to trust God.  It's good to trust Him."  Then he said, "When I grow up, I want to be a Sunday school teacher."

This was so, so big for me...because I have been waiting for seven years to hear him say things like that.  I still can hardly believe it.  

Our God is a God of miracles.  He is AMAZING!!!

Know that God has a plan, even for our detours.  <3

~ Grace

Cheshire Cat Eye ~Promise

Currently I have a thing for Wonderland. I designed this eye makeup look for a dear friend of mine. I think it's insane. Exactly what I was going for. ;)

Trying my Hand at Korean Style Makeup~ Promise

Hey everyone! So I've been kinda into Korean makeup lately, so I figured I would try it out. The popular style right now is big eyes, gradient lips, dewy skin and blush almost under your eyes. I have to admit, my eyes look kinda huge. Gracie? Wanna let me try it in you? ;) 

Tuesday Tunes with Hawk Nelson

Hey Everyone! It's Promise  here with another Tuesday Tunes. Ha ha! I finally remembered! Today we're taking a look at a song beloved by Grace and myself. Diamonds by Hawk Nelson. Through the miserable, hard times God makes us strong. He's making us into diamonds. :) God bless fellow diamonds! ~Promise

Friday Tuesday Tunes.......Oops.....

   I'm done fighting it. I can't keep it in anymore. I'M DOING AN ENTIRE POST DEDICATED TO RELIENT K! They're one of my favorite bands right now.

First off. Which to Bury, Us or the Hatchet. I enjoy this song a lot. It tells a story of a fight and the different ways to deal with it. The person here chose the hard path. It is sad, watching a relationship fail, but it's also a life lesson.

Next we have Mood Rings. I love the guy's perspective in this song. We girls...We sometimes don't make sense. especially if we run with our emotions. Mood rings could be a great idea. This song makes me want to keep my head on straight so I don't confuse everyone else.










Okay...One more. The Best Thing. This is the first Relient K song I ever heard. I really like this song. To me it means finding God in a personal way. To think of him as your most intimate friend, because that's who he is. My favorite line is "When I looked into your eyes, and you dared to stare right back, you should have said 'Nice to meet you, I'm your other half." Yep. That's what I want it to be like for me and my Lord.





Sooo, that's it. Relient K, my current obsession. Hope you enjoyed. I'm going to try to remember to keep Tuesday Tunes on TUESDAY. ~Promise

Why I Gave Up Facebook -- Grace

I'll be straight-up-honest here: I love social media.  It's great.  There are some I use more than others, like how I like Pinterest and Instagram best because I'm a very visual person.  But Facebook was my first love.  Or...my first social media account...whichever is more appropriate.  :P  I got a Facebook the day after I turned thirteen.  One of my best friends lives at least two hours away, and I hadn't talked to her in years -- that was my first reason.  And now I have friends and family literally from Maine to Oregon.  Facebook was my way of keeping in touch with all of those people -- even family and friends that live in town.  I got health updates on friends and family in dire need.  I saw pictures of my little cousins and friends' babies.  I heard about birthday parties and weddings, celebrated engagements and well-wishes for trips, watched as friends bragged on their best friend or sent random "you're awesome" messages to others.  I shared my poetry on there -- the stuff that God gave me to share with others.

So why did I give it up?

(I'll be honest....I still ask myself this question sometimes).

It's a tool.  But it's only useful if you use it wisely.  I used to check Facebook once every five minutes.  I'm alone a lot, and it was very easy for me to get bored and turn to Facebook for entertainment.  And with two hundred plus Facebook friends, there's bound to be a new post every ten minutes.

What else could I have done with the hours and hours and hours I've wasted, waiting for....what?  For another like?  A comment that would make me feel good for all of five minutes?  I could have been writing, sewing, sharing with others -- things that are worthwhile.  I could have been spending time with God and reading the Scriptures.

But instead, I was wasting my time on a shallow little social media platform....waiting for....nothing.

(Disclaimer: I love Instagram...it's slower and more laid-back than Facebook, and I don't feel the need to check it as often).

So...what could you do with the time you spend on social media?  Eh?

"Lay not up for yourselves treasure upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and thieves break through and steal.  But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal.  For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."

Matthew 13:19-21